A computer cluster generally includes a set of loosely connected computers working together as a single system. The components of a cluster are usually connected to each other through local area networks, each node (e.g., computer used as a server) running its own instance of an operating system. Computer clusters emerged as a result of convergence of a number of computing trends including the availability of low cost microprocessors, high speed networks, and software for distributed computing.
To maintenance one or more nodes of a cluster, the entire cluster drained of jobs and/or storage requests to allow physical maintenance on the nodes. This may result in a significant disruption to clients using the cluster.